With the economy straining their pocket books, Americans are looking for budget-friendly vacation ideas. Now more than ever, working folks need to "get away from it all," whether it's relaxing at the beach, the lake shore, or elsewhere.

Well, we just had to share this new term with you.  Demand for hotel rooms weakened in the spring and summer as soaring gas prices, the housing market crisis and broader worries about the economy helped make the "staycation" -- a vacation spent at home -- a new trend for anxious Americans. By the way, things don’t look very good in 2009 for the holiday industry. Click this link to find out more .

Want to do some heavy duty holiday marketing? Here’s how: Marriott's Spirit of Aloha Tour, a month-long consumer and travel trade blitz to promote Hawaii vacations, launched today in San Diego, California with a Hawaiian blessing that included traditional chants, conch shell blowers, hula dancers and musicians.